Who Wants To Be A Creative Genius?
Can You Learn Creativity?
Have you ever watched Robin Williams do a stand-up routine?
Could so much creativity and spontaneity result from a highly
organized approach? Definitely. Wild and funny thoughts don't
come from nowhere. Comedians have habits of mind, and even the
most spontaneous ones get better with practice, because they're
training their brains to find the humor in situations.
You can do this too. Creativity in all areas can be improved by
cultivating the right habits in your mind. You can start
training your brain today, with some simple techniques.
Train Your Brain
If you want the mind of a creative inventor, start redesigning
everything you see. Imagine a better light bulb, a faster way to
serve food, or a better lamp. Do this for three weeks, and it
will become a habit. It's also a good way to pass time while
driving or waiting for an appointment.
How about systematic creativity in poetry? Write a word on each
of 40 cards; 10 verbs, 10 adjectives, 10 nouns and 10 with any
words. Shuffle and deal out four cards. Write a 4-line poem
using one of the words in each line. My wife has had poems
published that were created with this technique. Your mind will
begin to find a poetic use for any word if you use this method
often.
Would you like to be the person who has something unique to say
about any topic? Train your mind to look at things from other
perpectives. What would Ghandi say about this? How would a
martian view our habits? If a dog (or a cat) could think, would
he say about humans?
The point isn't to ask other people silly questions, but to ask
yourself, just to see what new ideas they suggest. If you
consciously do this for a few weeks, you will do it out of habit
thereafter, and you'll always have something interesting to add
to a conversation.
Be A Master Problem Solver
You probably have heard of problem solving techniques such as
"attributes listing," "assuming the absurd," and using "what if"
word lists. If you haven't, you can learn about them at http://www.IncreaseBrain
Power.com. The point isn't to know them, however, but to use
them until they become a part of your habitual thinking process.
Imagine you need a new seating design for restaurants. If you've
trained your mind to challenge assumptions (another creative
problem solving technique), you automatically begin to ask
things like, "Are chair legs necessary?" If the seats were
extended from the wall, table, or ceiling, it would be easier to
clean under them. Are chairs necessary? Has anyone tried a
stand-up cafe? Less space is required.
You won't automaticaly have great ideas, but you'll have enough
creative ideas that it is more likely you'll find a useful one.
And this "spontaneous" creativity will be the result of your
brain training exercise. So why not start developing those
creative habits of mind today?